Syllabus for MCS-284: Computer Organization (Fall 2015)

Overview

MCS-284 will cover computer systems as seen through the eye of a programmer. Students will learn how a computer execute programs, store information, and communicate. They will become more effective programmers, especially in dealing with issues of performance, portability and robustness. The course also serves as a foundation for courses on compilers, computer networks, database systems, operating systems, etc, where a deeper understanding of systems-level issues is required. Topics covered include: machine-level code and its generation by optimizing compilers, performance evaluation and optimization, computer arithmetic, memory organization and management, networking technology and protocols, and supporting concurrent computation.

Office hours

I welcome visitors to my office (OHS 304) on a drop-in basis as well as by appointment. You may send me electronic mail at sskulrat@gustavus.edu.

World Wide Web

All course materials will be available through my World Wide Web page. The URL for this course is http://gustavus.edu/~sskulrat/Courses/2015F-284/.

Text

Our texts will be the third edition of Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective by Randal E. Bryant and David R. O'Hallaron, published by Pearson, and the second edition of The C Programming Language by Brian W. Kernighan and Dennis M. Ritchie, published by Prentice-Hall.

Tests

There will be one intra-term test and a final exam as scheduled by the registrar . If you have a conflict with a testing time, please contact me as soon as possible to make an alternative arrangement.

My default assumption is that students will take the final together. Therefore, I would ask you to please be respectful and quiet, even after completing your exam, so that your fellow students have a good test-taking environment. However, if you prefer to take the exam in a separate room, please contact me in advance and I will try to arrange it.

Tests will be closed-book and mostly closed-notes. You may, however, use a single 8 1/2" by 11" sheet of paper with hand-written notes for reference. (Both sides of the sheet are OK.)

Honor

Students are encouraged to discuss the course, including issues raised by the assignments. However, the solutions to assignments should be individual original work unless otherwise specified. If an assignment makes you realize you don't understand the material, ask a fellow student a question designed to improve your understanding, not one designed to get the assignment done. To do otherwise is to cheat yourself out of understanding as well as to be intolerably dishonorable.

Any substantive contribution to your solution by another person should be properly acknowledged in writing. Failure to do so is plagiarism and will necessitate disciplinary action.

You are expected to be familiar with the college academic honesty honor code policy and to comply with that policy. If you have any questions about it, please ask.

Late lab assignments

All lab assignments are due at the beginning of class on the day indicated. Late assignments will be penalized by one “grade notch” (such as A to A- or A- to B+) for each weekday late or fraction thereof.

If you are too sick to complete an assignment on time, you will not be penalized. Simply write “late due to illness” at the top of the assignment, sign your name and hand it in. Other circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Grade changes

Please point out any arithmetic or clerical error I make in grading, and I will gladly fix it. You may also request reconsideration if I have been especially unjust.

Grading

The course components will contribute to your grade in the following proportion: Please see me if you have any question how you stand. Class participation is not graded; however, it allows you to find and repair the gaps in your understanding before doing the assignments and thus can dramatically improve your grade. You are responsible for all course material, whether or not you are present when it was covered or distributed.

Accessibility

Gustavus Adolphus College is committed to ensuring the full participation of all students in its programs. If you have a documented disability (or you think you may have a disability of any nature) and, as a result, need reasonable academic accommodation to participate in class, take tests or benefit from the College's services, then you should speak with the Disability Services staff, for a confidential discussion of your needs and appropriate plans. Course requirements cannot be waived, but reasonable accommodations may be provided based on disability documentation and course outcomes. Accommodations cannot be made retroactively; therefore, to maximize your academic success at Gustavus, please contact Disability Services as early as possible. Disability Services (gustavus.edu/advising/disability/) is located in the Academic Support Center. Disability Services Coordinator, Kelly Karstad, (kkarstad@gustavus.edu or x7138), can provide further information.

Support for English learners and multilingual students is available through the Academic Support Center's Multilingual Learner Academic Specialist, Jody Bryant (jbryant2@gustavus.edu or x7197). The MLAS can meet individually with students for tutoring in writing, consulting about academic tasks, and helping students connect with the College's support systems. When requested, the MLAS can consult with faculty regarding effective classroom strategies for English learners and multilingual students. The MLAS can provide students with a letter to a professor that explains and supports appropriate academic arrangements (e.g., additional time on tests, additional revisions for papers). Professors make decisions based on those recommendations at their own discretion. In addition, English learners and multilingual students can seek help from peer tutors in the Writing Center (gustavus.edu/writingcenter/). Please let me know if there is any accommodation in the course that would enable you to more fully show your abilities; for example, I would consider allowing extra time on tests, as well as allowing a dictionary in an otherwise closed-book test.